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Proper 14

Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;let the distant shores rejoice.2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.3 Fire goes before himand consumes his foes on every side.4 His lightning lights up the world;the earth sees and trembles.5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,before the Lord of all the earth.6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,and all peoples see his glory.

7 All who worship images are put to shame,those who boast in idols—worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and rejoicesand the villages of Judah are gladbecause of your judgments,Lord.9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;you are exalted far above all gods.10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,for he guards the lives of his faithful onesand delivers them from the hand of the wicked.11 Light shines[a] on the righteousand joy on the upright in heart.12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,and praise his holy name.

Psalm 99

1 The Lord reigns,let the nations tremble;he sits enthroned between the cherubim,let the earth shake.2 Great is the Lord in Zion;he is exalted over all the nations.3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy.

4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—you have established equity;in Jacob you have donewhat is just and right.5 Exalt the Lord our Godand worship at his footstool;he is holy.

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,Samuel was among those who called on his name;they called on the Lordand he answered them.7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

8 Lord our God,you answered them;you were to Israel a forgiving God,though you punished their misdeeds.[a]9 Exalt the Lord our Godand worship at his holy mountain,for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.2 Worship the Lord with gladness;come before him with joyful songs.3 Know that the Lord is God.It is he who made us, and we are his[b];we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgivingand his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 94

1 The Lord is a God who avenges.O God who avenges, shine forth.2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;pay back to the proud what they deserve.3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4 They pour out arrogant words;all the evildoers are full of boasting.5 They crush your people,Lord;they oppress your inheritance.6 They slay the widow and the foreigner;they murder the fatherless.7 They say, “The Lord does not see;the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;you fools, when will you become wise?9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?Does he who formed the eye not see?10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?11 The Lord knows all human plans;he knows that they are futile.

12 Blessed is the one you discipline,Lord,the one you teach from your law;13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,till a pit is dug for the wicked.14 For the Lord will not reject his people;he will never forsake his inheritance.15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?17 Unless the Lord had given me help,I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,”your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.19 When anxiety was great within me,your consolation brought me joy.

20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?21 The wicked band together against the righteousand condemn the innocent to death.22 But the Lord has become my fortress,and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.23 He will repay them for their sinsand destroy them for their wickedness;the Lord our God will destroy them.

Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.2 Let us come before him with thanksgivingand extol him with music and song.

3 For the Lord is the great God,the great King above all gods.4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,and the mountain peaks belong to him.5 The sea is his, for he made it,and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;7 for he is our Godand we are the people of his pasture,the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,9 where your ancestors tested me;they tried me, though they had seen what I did.10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,and they have not known my ways.’11 So I declared on oath in my anger,‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth.3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean.5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name.7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”

11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her.14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”

15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

John Testifies Again About Jesus

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.24 (This was before John was put in prison.)25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit.35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.